There are some things in this world we just cannot change. One of them is that everyone on this planet needs food. And there is almost 8 billion of us. That's a huge amount of food. Imagine the ingredients and energy needed to cook for everyone on this planet. And we all know that at every lunch there is always something we throw away, right? all know that at every lunch there is always something we throw away, right? But what if we used the food we throw away to make the energy we need to make more food? In this Bloom episode, we speak about biofuel made from food waste. Would you believe me that a third of the food in Europe is thrown away? Sadly, it's true. And it's also true that all the energy that went into making the food has also gone to waste. We are here with a team of researchers who have a special gift to extract value from waste. They are going to show us how to make biofuel from all those scraps we unfortunately just throw away. We follow the concept of circular economy. In the circular economy we want to reduce, recycle and reuse waste. And when it's not possible, you need to put in value this waste producing fuel. Fossil fuel depletion is a reality, so we need to find new renewable sources of energy. How can we extract energy from the food we throw away? Hi my name is Raquel and in this video I will introduce you to an exciting new way of making biofuel. Step 1 you take the food waste you separate it from non-organic material and you blend it. Step 2. The blend is then dehydrated. Step 3. Now the dried food waste in the form of these granules is used to extract our first oil. This comes mainly from the different fats from the food, like cooking oil, fat from your burger and so on. Step 4. What is left over is mainly sugar and fibers, which is mixed with water and a fungus which has special enzymes that break down these larger molecules and gets everything ready for the next stage. Miguel Carmona Cabello talks about the commitment they have in the new research. To focus in the natural cycle and to copy this cycle in the economy. And my work here is to take this knowledge of the natural, this possibility and put in industry. How function the natural, how function the environment and with this to take all of this knowledge, natural knowledge and apply it in human knowledge. Step 5. The resulting liquid is filtered and fermented, which means that nature will do its work by having yeast making the oil for us. Yes, there is yeast that makes oil. And with a bit of ultrasound treatment, we finally get the fuel we need. Here we have the diesel and here we have the glycerin. They have separated already. Can I have the diesel, this biodiesel, for my car? Yes, you can use it. How far can I go with it? Maybe with this quantity, maybe one meter. As we just saw, this is quite a complicated process to make only a small cup of biofuel. You might think that this is not very efficient. But remember, here in the lab, everything is made on a small scale. By refining all the steps in the process, we are able to replicate it on a much larger scale at something called a biorefinery. This is where large volumes of biofuel are made. Same process, just bigger. What is a biorefinery? It's basically a huge production site that uses biomass as a primary raw material. site that uses biomass as a primary raw material. And the cool thing is that not only do biorefineries convert biomass to energy, they also extract other materials used to make cosmetics, animal feed, and bioplastics, to name only a few. Here, the research that Miguel and Sara are doing is aimed at finding an efficient way to extract value from food waste as a biomass resource to convert it into biofuel and also other products. So picture this. Food waste is brought to the biorefinery. Biofuel and other things are produced, which again gives us the energy to produce more food. So, biorefineries are going to be a crucial component in any bioeconomy. I'm going to talk to Mar Delgado. She's one of the most important researchers in bioeconomy we have here at the campus in Cordoba. What is the role of biorefineries? The role is to use biomass, preferably waste resources from biomass, converting into energy and also into other chemical products. So it is a very important sector because we produce a lot of waste biomass in Andalusia. So it's a way to add in value to these waste streams. It is still an ongoing research project, but I asked Miguel, how much food waste would I need for one liter of biodiesel. Here we see the calculations. Biomass can be a great source of energy production, but if biomass can also be used to make food directly, are we not going to be competing for resources? Are we to prioritize the fuel that machines need over food that humans need? This is a critical point. Let's hear what Mara Miguel has to say about this. So it's really nonsense to use land to produce raw materials to be burned. It's better to use the waste stream that are after producing, for instance, food or animal feeding to produce bioenergy. feeding to produce bioenergy. Well, a biorefinery is not only focused on making biofuel, but they can also generate a smart industry and enter into a circular economy, making new bioproducts and new processes. They also enable us to recycle or recover waste, such as waste from the agricultural and food industries, and any other types of organic waste that can be used in bioprocesses. In bioeconomy, it is important to think about the social aspect as well, and to make sure that there is enough food for everybody. We must consider the impact that the new bioeconomy process will have. So one idea is to use food waste, which, as we saw, is a valuable source of energy. But another research project here at the University of Córdoba looks even further into the future, with the help of some really tiny friends called microalgae. Be sure to watch our video on how these microorganisms make biofuel too! Goodbye! you